Third wind turbine proposed for Ford plant

Ford is set to add a third wind turbine at its Dagenham manufacturing plant, it was announced today.

The proposed extra turbine at the car manufacturer's Dagenham Diesel Centre will mean the site will continue to be entirely powered by wind generated electricity, following the installation of a new 1.4/1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi engine manufacturing line.

The two existing wind turbines, provided by green energy company Ecotricity, have enabled the Dagenham plant to cut carbon emissions by 6,500 tonnes a year since 2004, according to the company.

The third turbine is expected to produce 1.8MW of electricity powering the equivalent of 1,000 homes.

A spokesman for the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) welcomed the news, claiming it was the latest in a number of instances of company's installing large scale turbines to satisfy their own electricity needs. Although he warned that "it is too early to say whether it is the start of a trend".

He added that installing onsite turbines had the dual benefit of allowing firms to cut their energy bill and potentially sell surplus electricity back to the grid.

A spokesman for Ford said that the company had already benefited financially from the decision to install the turbines. "When we installed the first two in 2004 the price of using green energy was neutral, but since the rise in brown energy prices, it's positively the cheaper option," he said.

He added that the company hoped the third turbine will be operational by the end of this year or at the beginning of next, subject to planning permission. " The site of the new turbine, on the Thames Estuary is made for wind turbines, position wise," he said.